At the Nacra 17 European Championships, on the strength of an exceptional run of three second places today in a challenging, shifty Tramontane WNW’ly which peaked at a stamina sapping 26kts, Spain’s Iker Martinez and Tara Pacheco lead going into the final day.

In terms of sheer consistency double Olympic 49er medallist Martinez and Pachecho were on a different level, strong enough in their boat handling to capitalise on their excellent tactical choices over the three races which were contested in La Grande Motte’s gusty, cross offshore breeze which varied in strength and brought regular shifts in direction.

Their six points tally from the only three Finals races to have been completed was head and shoulders above any of their rivals. Until now it looked like France’s world champions Billy Besson and Marie Riou were on target to add the European title to their World Champions title but after winning the first race comfortably, their second was more ragged. They lead to the first windward mark but then ended up on the wrong side of the sequence of big shifts and dropped to fifth at the second windward mark, finishing eighth.

But it was only 400 metres from the finish line of the very breezy third race of the day when Besson and Riou’s European title challenge faltered. Lying fourth they capsized within sight of the line and struggled to get across the line in 27th place. With only three Finals races sailed – and hence no Finals discard or chance of a discard - their error proves expensive.

It was another windy day in La Grande Motte, one which was again punctuated by long periods waiting. For the gold fleet there was a hold ashore into the evening to see if the breeze would abate enough for another Finals race. It proved to be in vain and so Martinez and Pacheco go into Saturday’s ten boat double points medal race with a lead of 13pts ahead of Italy’s young world ranked one pair Vittorio Bissaro and Silvia Sicouri who won the third race today, again showing their prowess in the really breezy stuff.

But helm Bissaro, who – with Sicouri - won the ISAF World Cup events this year in Miami and Hyeres , confirmed they were very disappointed with their first two races today from which they returned a 14th and 10th, considering they spent too much focus on their rivals rather than sailing their own races:

'Sometimes it is not easy to decide the compromise between tactics and strategy and with this kind of wind it is a lot easier to think about the wind and not the competitors and maybe we paid too much attention to the others and not the wind.'

'Actually we are not very happy because we didn't sail well today. We were not good at picking the right shifts so we are not happy about the way we sailed in the first two races. At least in the final race we were able to win and that helps us a lot in the ranking. Now we are in second and that's good for the medal race.'

With Denmark’s Allen Norregard – sailing with Line Just – lying third, two of the top three helms going into the medal race are 49er Olympic medallists, Norregard wining bronze in Weymouth and Portland in 2012.

'It’s a bit of a surprise we are doing so well. But it’s quite funny to see but I'm actually not that surprised that the 49ers are doing well because I feel that this is very similar to 49er racing so I think the 49er racers have a good way in. I did a bit of sailing on a Tornado as well, and on a 49er, but I think this boat is closer to the 49er than it was to the Tornado.'

'We are still not so good downwind because I am still a bit cautious and don’t want to push it as hard, we need more days like this and to go home and practice more in the big winds.'

'It's really close. Everyone could take over each other so there will be no match-racing from anybody I think, it will be all about getting your own race.'

'With Iker I am good. We have always been fighting against each other so tomorrow we will have another fight.'

Hard galvanised experience over 15 years of Olympic 49er sailing, not to mention a gold and a silver medal as well as three 49er world titles grants the upper hand to Martinez, and Pacheco, going into the short, sharp Medal Race which starts at 1600hrs local time. They are 13pts up on the Italians and at 17pts up on the Danish duo the Spanish pair are almost assured of their first medal in the class. Besson and Riou are 21pts behind Martinez and Pacheco and their European title hopes are all but over.

Martinez, who is looking to maximise their improvements before the ISAF World Championships which are on what more or less ranks on his home waters, Santander:

'We are improving. Here it has mostly been windy and we seem to have been OK, but we are a long way to get to where the Italians and especially Billy and Marie are in all the conditions. We can be competitive in some conditions but not all of them. But a day like this we seem to do OK when some of those guys capsize or things like that. Overall they are still ahead of us, we have to keep improving. Today it looks like we have been better in the breezy stuff, we were good.'

Iker Martinez (ESP): 'I think Tara will sleep well tonight. It was not easy today. It was windy but it was not extremely windy, except in the second upwind it was pretty difficult. We had some good comebacks it was quite shifty. It was one of these days where you can find your way in the shifts. We had a problem on the first day when we had a collision and a big hole. And so I had to fix it and do two very quick races and then a lot of waiting around and then today with three races that is nearly half the regatta.

It is the Europeans and so it is the second to most important regatta of the year for us, the worlds are more important. We are building up to Santander. There worlds are the worlds and so there is always pressure there. I think it will be more busy for us there, but it is a place we know well. Here we like finishing the race and going home, there it will not be so easy. We are improving. Here is has mostly been windy and we seem to have been OK, but we are a long way to get to where the Italians and especially Billy and Marie are in all the conditions. We can be competitive in some conditions but not all of them. But a day like this we seem to do OK when some of those guys capsize or things like that. Overall they are still ahead of us, we have to keep improving. Today it looks like we have been better in the breezy stuff, we were good.'

Vittorio Bissaro (ITA): 'Actually we are not very happy because we didn't sail well today. We were not good at picking the right shift so we are not happy about the way we sailed in the first two races, at least in the final race we were able to win and that helps us a lot in the ranking, now we are in second and that's good for the medal race.

Sometimes it is not easy to decide the compromise between tactics and strategy and with this kind of wind it is a lot easier to think about the wind and not the competitors and maybe we paid too much attention to the others and not the wind.

We will just go on the water and do our best regatta. Yes we were waiting for another race but the wind actually is really strong so that's good. We will take whatever happens.

We were not happy when we came in because of the way we sailed but we just want to be focused about the championship and keep going. At the end the only things that say if you sailed well or badly is where you finished in the championship.'

Hopefully tomorrow we will get some lighter wind, we haven't really had very much light wind. For the result I think we are probably better off but we like to see where we are in lighter wind too.

Allan Norregaard (DEN): 'We didn't really expect to do this good but we are very happy to be where we are.'

'Today it was difficult. We were doing really good upwind but we struggled down-wind so we still have some way to go.'

'We are afraid of putting it in so we are taking it a little bit more slowly than most of the fast guys are so we are losing a lot downwind compared to the really fast guys so we need to go home and work on that.

I think it's good fun, we did it in Kiel it was actually a really good one. It was a nice short course so really intense racing so that was a nice race. We finished in the middle, I think we were fifth but it was good. A really, really fun race.

It's really close on the standings now. Everyone could take over each other so there will be no match-racing from anybody I think, it will be all about getting your own race.

That's quite funny to see (two of the top three 49er medallists) I'm actually not that surprised that the 49ers are doing well because I feel that this is very similar to 49er racing so I think the 49er racers have a good way in. I did a bit of sailing on a Tornado as well, and on a 49er, but I think this boat is closer to the 49er than it was to the Tornado.

Iker and I are good. We have always been fighting against each other so tomorrow we will have another fight.